Client:

Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM)

Location:

Australia

Co-operative and Mutual Enterprises (CMEs) contribute billions to the Australian economy and play a vital and quantifiable role locally and internationally

The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) is the national peak body for co-operatives and mutuals in Australia. The 2021 report is the eighth annual report on the scale and performance of the Australian co-operative and mutual sector released by the BCCM.

The report maps the size, composition and overall health of the sector using the Australian Co-operative and Mutual Enterprise Index – a research project by the University of Western Australia.

In 2021, SGS joined as a research partner for the report. Using input-output modelling, and survey responses from across the CME sector, we estimated the CME sector’s total direct and indirect economic contributions. The results were impressive.

In a year marred by natural disasters and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic heralding a halt to international trade and global recession, the direct and indirect benefits of CME businesses were far-reaching:

  • The total revenue for the top 100 co-operative and mutual enterprises, or CMEs, was $32.8bn.
  • Australian CMEs combined gross assets of more than $1.1 trillion, including super funds.
  • CMEs directly employed at least 70,000 Australian workers but facilitated the employment of 180,000 people.
  • In agriculture alone, CMEs facilitated the operations of more than 24,000 member businesses.
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